Speech sample estimation from composite zerocrossings and encoding via adaptive switching of transforms

This thesis investigates the potential use of zerocrossing information for speech sample estimation. It provides 21 new method tn) estimate speech samples using composite zerocrossings. A simple linear interpolation technique is developed for this purpose. By using this method the A/D converter can be avoided in a speech coder. The newly proposed zerocrossing sampling theory is supported with results of computer simulations using real speech data. The thesis also presents two methods for voiced/ unvoiced classification. One of these methods is based on a distance measure which is a function of short time zerocrossing rate and short time energy of the signal. The other one is based on the attractor dimension and entropy of the signal. Among these two methods the first one is simple and reguires only very few computations compared to the other. This method is used imtea later chapter to design an enhanced Adaptive Transform Coder. The later part of the thesis addresses a few problems in Adaptive Transform Coding and presents an improved ATC. Transform coefficient with maximum amplitude is considered as ‘side information’. This. enables more accurate tfiiz assignment enui step—size computation. A new bit reassignment scheme is also introduced in this work. Finally, sum ATC which applies switching between luiscrete Cosine Transform and Discrete Walsh-Hadamard Transform for voiced and unvoiced speech segments respectively is presented. Simulation results are provided to show the improved performance of the coder

Development of a portable composite equipment for coastal fishery and hydrographic investigations

This thesis reports on the details of the works done to develop a complete system for acquisition of the important marine environmental parameters namely, current, current direction, salinity, temperature and depth. It encompaéps transducers,signalconditioners display arrangements and remote controlled multiplexer which constitue the system. The various associate instruentation and environmental requisites and problems have been discussed and solved to considerable extend. The design and development features of this composite system includes an integrated approach in order to make the final equipment to be simple, inexpensive and easy for operation from small and large boats. This could be achieved with the successful development of all required components with features matching between them, such as sensors, signals conditioners remote operated multiplexers, comon display methods, quick performance check and calibration methods. The major success rests on the development of sensors with excellent performance characteristics suitable for marine environment. out of the 5 sensors. that of current salinity and depth are quite noval types with specific advantages. The environmental effects have been eliminated to the required extend. The common signal conditioner for salinity, temperature and depth has noval design features for achieving simplicity, reliability and accomodating the three sensors of different functional requirements.

Investigation of dielectric and elastic properties of selected dielectric ceramics and oxide glasses

The dielectric and elastic properties are of considerable significance to the science and technology of matter in the solid state. The study of these properties give information about the magnitude of the forces and nature of the bonding between the atoms. Our aim has been to investigate systematically the effect of doping of an appropriate element on the elastic and dielectric properties of selected dielectric ceramics and oxide glasses. These materials have got wide technological applications due to their interesting electrical, optical, thermal and elastic behaviour. Ultrasound propagation and capacitance measurement techniques have been employed for the systematic investigation of the elastic and dielectric properties of selected number of these materials. Details of the work done and results obtained are presented in this thesis.

“Studies on short polyester fiber - polyurethane elastomer composite with different interfacial bonding agents”

The work presented in this thesis is regarding the development and evaluation of new bonding agents for short polyester fiber - polyurethane elastomer composites. The conventional bonding system based on hexamethylenetetramine, resorcinol and hydrated silica was not effective as a bonding agent for the composite, as the water eliminated during the formation of the RF resin hydrolysed the urethane linkages. Four bonding agents based on MDI/'I‘DI and polypropyleneglycol, propyleneglycol and glycerol were prepared and the composite recipe was optimised with respect to the cure characteristics and mechanical properties. The flow properties, stress relaxation pattern and the thermal degradation characteristics of the composites containing different bonding agents were then studied in detail to evaluate the new bonding systems. The optimum loading of resin was 5 phr and the ratio of the -01 to isocyanate was 1:1. The cure characteristics showed that the optimum combination of cure rate and processability was given by the composite with the resin based on polypropyleneglycol/ glycerol/ 4,4’diphenylmethanediisocynate (PPG/GL/MDI). From the rheological studies of the composites with and without bonding agents it was observed that all the composites showed pseudoplastic nature and the activation energy of flow of the composite was not altered by the presence of bonding agents. Mechanical properties such as tensile strength, modulus, tear resistance and abrasion resistance were improved in the presence of bonding agents and the effect was more pronounced in the case of abrasion resistance. The composites based on MDI/GL showed better initial properties while composites with resins based on MDI/PPG showed better aging resistance. Stress relaxation showed a multistage relaxation behaviour for the composite. Within the-strain levels studied, the initial rate of relaxation was higher and the cross over time was lesser for the composite containing bonding agents. The bonding agent based on MDI/PPG/GL was found to be a better choice for improving stress relaxation characteristics with better interfacial bonding. Thennogravimetirc analysis showed that the presence of fiber and bonding agents improved the thennal stability of the polyurethane elastomer marginally and it was maximum in the case of MDI / GL based bonding agents. The kinetics of degradation was not altered by the presence of bonding agents

Thermal characterisation of dye-intercalated K-10 montmorillonite ceramics using photoacoustic technique

Thermal diffusivity (TD) measurements were performed on some industrially important dyes – auramine O (AO), malachite green and methylene blue (MB) – adsorbed K-10 montmorillonites using photoacoustic method. The TD value for the dye-adsorbed clay mineral was observed to change with a variation in dye concentration. The contribution of the dye towards TD was also determined. The repeatedly adsorbed samples with MB and AO exhibited a lower TD than the single-adsorbed samples. TD values of sintered MB samples were also obtained experimentally. These sintered samples exhibit a higher TD, although they show a trend similar to that of non-sintered pellets. A variation in dye concentration and sintering temperature can be used for tuning the TD value of the clay mineral to the desired level

Optimization of medium for the production of a novel aquaculture probiotic, Micrococcus MCCB 104 using central composite design

A marine isolate of jáÅêçÅçÅÅìë MCCB 104 has been identified as an aquaculture probiotic antagonistic to sáÄêáç. In the present study different carbon and nitrogen sources and growth factors in a mineral base medium were optimized for enhanced biomass production and antagonistic activity against the target pathogen, sáÄêáç=Ü~êîÉóá, following response surface methodology (RSM). Accordingly the minimum and maximum limits of the selected variables were determined and a set of fifty experiments programmed employing central composite design (CCD) of RSM for the final optimization. The response surface plots of biomass showed similar pattern with that of antagonistic activity, which indicated a strong correlation between the biomass and antagonism. The optimum concentration of the carbon sources, nitrogen sources, and growth factors for both biomass and antagonistic activity were glucose (17.4 g/L), lactose (17 g/L), sodium chloride (16.9 g/L), ammonium chloride (3.3 g/L), and mineral salts solution (18.3 mL/L). © KSBB

Ni filled flexible multi-walled carbon nanotube–polystyrene composite films as efficient microwave absorbers

In this letter, we report flexible, non corrosive, and light weight nickel nanoparticle@multi-walled carbon nanotube–polystyrene (Ni@MWCNT/PS) composite films as microwave absorbing material in the frequency range of S band (2-4 GHz). Dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability of composites having 0.5 and 1.5 wt. % filler amount were measured using the cavity perturbation technique. Reflection loss maxima of 33 dB (at 2.7 GHz) and 24 dB (at 2.7 GHz) were achieved for 0.5 and 1.5 wt. % Ni@MWCNT/PS composite films of 6 and 4 mm thickness, respectively, suggesting that low concentrations of filler provide significant electromagnetic interference shielding

Processability, hardness, andmagnetic properties of rubber ferrite composites containingmanganese zinc ferrites

Rubber ferrite composites have the unique advantage of mouldability, which is not easily obtainable using ceramic magnetic materials. The incorporation of mixed ferrites in appropriate weight ratios into the rubber matrix not only modi es the dielectric properties of the composite but also imparts magnetic properties to it. Mixed ferrites belonging to the series of Mn(1 – x )Znx Fe2O4 have been synthesised with diVerent values of x in steps of 0·2, using conventional ceramic processing techniques. Rubber ferrite composites were prepared by the incorporation of these pre-characterised polycrystallineMn(1 – x )Znx Fe2O4 ceramics into a natural rubber matrix at diVerent loadings according to a speci c recipe. The processability of these elastomers was determined by investigating their cure characteristics. The magnetic properties of the ceramic llers as well as of the rubber ferrite composites were evaluated and the results were correlated. Studies of the magnetic properties of these rubber ferrite composites indicate that the magnetisation increases with loading of the ller without changing the coercive eld. The hardness of these composites shows a steady increase with the loading of the magnetic llers. The evaluation of hardness andmagnetic characteristics indicates that composites with optimummagnetisation and almost minimum stiVness can be achieved with a maximum loading of 120 phr of the ller at x=0·4. From the data on the magnetisation of the composites, a simple relationship connecting the magnetisation of the rubber ferrite composite and the ller was formulated. This can be used to synthesise rubber ferrite composites with predetermined magnetic properties

Dielectric andmechanical properties of rubber ferrite composites

Rubber ferrite composites (RFCs) containing powdered nickel zinc ferrite (Ni1 – xZnxFe2O4 ) in a natural rubber matrix have been prepared and their mechanical and dielectric properties have been evaluated. Variations in the relative permittivity of both the ferrite ceramics and RFCs have been studied over a range of frequencies, ceramic compositions, ceramic ller loadings, and temperatures, and the results have been correlated. Appropriate mixture equations have been formulated to calculate the dielectric permittivity of the composite from the dielectric permittivity of its constituents. Values calculated using these equations have been compared with experimental data on relative permittivity, and the two have been found to be in good agreement. In the present investigationit was also observed that for x=0·4 and for the maximum ferrite loading, the composite sample exhibits maximum magnetisation and optimum exibility